Thunder and Lightning
by breathsoffury
Summary: A young Viking named Akita travels to Berk from a cruel, unforgiving village. When her past begins to surface and trouble arises in Berk, she must find a way to help her new home and find her true destiny. This story takes place after HTTYD 2. Characters and universe are not owned by me. *Cover photo was not made by me, credit to who did
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Everything in this world happens for a reason. Yet, it is beyond frustrating when what you want to happen still hasn't. Maybe it's because I'm not ready. But I know I am. I have been studying dragons since i was a little girl. Even before our chief, Hiccup united Vikings and dragons, I was curious about them. I remember adventuring out into the wild while everyone else went about their business. There was one day when I came across an adolescent Shockjaw. I was looking down at my dragon journal, not paying attention to my surroundings. As I was walking, I tripped on a large tree root. Falling flat on my face, I hear a crunch, following with intense pain and the feeling of blood dripping down my face. A broken nose. I sit up slowly, cupping my nose with my hands, blood pouring between my , a young sapling to my right falls over, making a loud crash. It startles me. I shoot up to my feet. From the tree line, a Shockjaw, which is a Tidal class dragon, appears slowly, growling. I wasn't afraid. He was a beautiful dragon. He was still dripping of water, and by smelling the air I could tell we were close to the sea. He snarls at me, showing his large set of teeth. His greenish-blue body almost blends into the forest, as I probably would not have been able to spot lowers into a territorial position, still holding my nose, I put my other hand up, showing I have no weapons. He looks at my hands, then back to my face. I see into his eyes, knowing he is just being protective. After all, he is a wild dragon, not used to Vikings this close. It's possible he may have never had an encounter until now, since he was still , I walk closer to him. "It's okay," I tell him. Defensively, he makes a rumble in his throat. "Don't be afraid. I have no weapons, see?"I walk halfway between us and stop. He is still clearly nervous and defensive. His dorsal fin turns a bright shade of blue, and he points his facial horn towards me."It's okay," I say again, soothingly. I slowly walk towards him, reaching my hand out. "I'm not going to hurt you, I promise."We're now so close I can feel the electricity coming off of his body. He grunts, emitting sparks from his mouth. I look deep into his eyes, which are curious, but full of nervousness. I slowly reach my hand out. He growls, showing teeth. I stop."It's okay," I tell him, this time reaching my hand further. I keep eye contact, making sure he knows I won't hurt him. My hand flattens on the space between his nostrils. I feel his breath. He looks at me, and I take my hand away. I smile. He huffs sparks, turns around, and flies away, all before I can say anything else.I'm in awe. "Wow", I say out loud. That was truly amazing.

Since that day, I knew what I was meant to do. I knew I had a gift. I loved dragons, and vowed to protect them with my life.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

 **I have never been to a place like Berk. There are many places I have been to, but none have compared to this island. It is teeming with life, friendliness, culture, and most importantly, dragons. There are feeding stations, large baths, statues and sculptures, and all different kinds of species everywhere. It's my researching dream.** Before I came here, I lived in a place where dragons were seen as dangerous beasts, kind of like Berk. Except we enslaved them, and made them do work for us. We abused them. It breaks my heart to know that things like that are still happening in this world. Someday though, I will ride back into my home, setting all of those dragons family is dead to me. When they found out I had a love for dragons, they disowned me. I ran away to study dragons, and have since discovered that it is my true passion. I have been to many places around the world, but nothing like Berk. It feels like home to me.

When I arrived here, I was seen as an outcast. Things were a bit different back then though. I have black hair, dark brown eyes, and tanned olive skin. I'm sure the folks around here weren't used to seeing someone like me around. Most people here have pale skin. Now, I have made many friends. Hiccup and the other Dragon Riders and I spend lots of time together, discussing all things dragons. I remember when I met Toothless, too. I had seen other Night Furies before, when I was young. I told Hiccup this. He and Toothless both perked up. "You have seen another Night Fury?" Hiccup asks excitedly. Toothless opens his mouth, beautiful green eyes wide, and looks at Hiccup. "Bud, did you hear that?"

I nod and smile, but quickly my smile fades. "Yes," I say quietly. "There were a few in my village. But not anymore."

Hiccup's excitement turns to worry. "What do you mean? What happened to them?"

"My village enslaved dragons. Even the most feared dragons were captured and forced to work." Hiccup falls silent. He and Toothless sadly look at each other. "It was horrible. There was even punishment for humans who helped dragons escape."

Hiccup and I look at each other. My face says a thousand words. "When I was younger... I helped a Night Fury escape."

He looks at me in shock and surprise. "Is... is that why you came to Berk?"

I shrug. "Sort of. But I also knew that I belonged with dragons. I couldn't stay there. It was only a matter of time before I got caught..." I turn my head, staring off into the distance of the sea. "It was my first time seeing a dragon up close. I knew what people thought about Night Furies. That they were reclusive, and would not hesitate to kill you. But I didn't care.

There was a large buildings that the dragons were kept in. They were in separate rooms, chained down to the concrete floors. But the most dangerous ones were always watched more closely. I'm very lucky I didn't get caught sneaking in." I stop for a moment, turning my head to Toothless, admiring his beauty. I smile at him, and reach out to touch his nose.

"One night we had a bad thunderstorm. I was thinking about the times I had seen the dragon from afar, and how he was treated. Even though I was young, I knew I needed to do something to help him. So that night, I decided to sneak into the building and into the Night Fury's "room". When I opened the door, he barely moved. His glowing, green eyes looked up at me. He looked so broken, so defeated." I could barely get out the last sentence, choking on the words and the horrific memory. Hiccup too, looked just like that Night Fury.

"I shut the door behind me and slowly walked towards him. 'It's okay,' I said to him. 'I'm going to free you. I won't hurt you.' The chains rattled as he began to perk up. He knew I was going to save him. So I clipped the chains, heart pounding, because I was near this creature who was made out to be a vicious beast. I talked to him the whole time, saying it was alright. He grunted and growled, shaking the rest of the chains off. Thunder cracked, making me jump. The Night Fury moved closer to me, staring into my eyes. I can't imagine how I must've looked to him; so frightened, but determined to help him. I slowly reached my hand out. Hiccup, he let me put my hand on his head. That's when I knew that dragons, even the most feared, were not what we thought they were.

His eyes told me a story. Then they said, 'Come with me.' He was waiting for me. He wanted me to leave that hellhole with him. His large, black wings opened, ready to take flight. He turned to the side, so I was near his neck. He wanted me to hop onto his back. Out loud I said, 'No, I'm sorry. You need to get out of here now! I can't come with you. There is so much I need to do here first.' I put my hands on his side, stroking for a moment, before pushing him. 'Go!' I said. 'Fly out of here!' He looked back at me for a moment, then let out a roaring scream, and took flight into the air through the roof of the building."

I was silent for a moment, still gazing at Toothless. "That's why I was so surprised to meet you, Toothless. That was the last time I had seen a Fury. I assumed that someone had hunted them out of existence."

Hiccup put his hand on my arm. "Akita," he says. "That Night Fury could still be alive. I mean, Toothless is still here, right bud?" Toothless sticks his tongue out, showing his gums and begins to gallop behind Hiccup. We both laugh.

My smile quickly disappears, as does Hiccup's. "Maybe," I suggested. "But there's no way of knowing for sure. You and I both know there is so much left out there, that we haven't explored, that maybe nobody has explored."

He nods. "I know, that's why I think there are still Night Furies out there. They're very reclusive. And we keep discovering new species, just about every month!"

"Someday I'll get out there with you, and maybe you and I will find that dragon together."

We smile at each other. "Speaking of getting out there", he replies. "Astrid and I want you to come with us on a mission. It's going to be dangerous though. Think you're up for the challenge?"

"Wow! Really?"

"Yes really!" He hops into the air a little, pegleg squeaking as he hits the ground again.

"Maybe I'll finally find a dragon of my own."

He nods his head excitedly. "I'm sure it'll happen soon! Trust me, when you know, you know. Anyway, we live first light tomorrow morning. I'll see you then."

Hiccup smiles again, pats Toothless, and begins to walk away. I'm left sitting on the ground on a cliff, staring into the sea. Other Vikings ride the skies with their dragons. Hopefully soon, I will jump the clouds and hop the stars with my own companion.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

When I wake, the sun has yet to rise. Calls of birds echo in the sky, waiting for the day to begin. Rubbing my eyes and yawning, I stretch and climb out of my bed. Once I stand, I hear a knock on the door. It's Hiccup. He tells me they're ready to go.

"Okay, I'm coming!" I say. I grab my supplies and my bag, which has all my essential dragon information. I open my door to Hiccup, Astrid, Toothless, and Stormfly.

Astrid smiles at me and says, "You can ride with me."

I walk over to Stormfly and put my hand on her, looking her directly in the eye. I thank her for letting me ride her. Astrid climbs onto her back and I follow.

"Umm, I usually don't ride dragons. It's been a while," I nervously state.

"Don't worry," Astrid comforted. "We'll take it easy, won't we girl?"

Hiccup takes off, and so do we. The jolt of speeding off into the sky right off the ground immediately wakes me up. Thor, the wind in my hair feels amazing! I throw my hands up and shout excitedly, loving every moment of this. Astrid laughs and shouts too. Hiccup turns around and looks at us, with an expression on his face that says 'You haven't seen anything yet.'

We soar high into the clouds, dragons roaring. We level and now we are flying quite smoothly.

"So," I say. "Where are we going?" Hiccup and Astrid look at one another.

"We're going to check up on an island," Hiccup states. "Dramamillion Island to be exact."

"Dramamillion? I've not heard of that one before," I wonder. "Is that a new dragon species?"

"Yes," he states. "They're pretty cool really. They can mimic fire from other dragons. They're quite colorful, and they hunt in packs. If one pack member runs out of firepower, they can transfer their own fire to him!"

I shuffle through my bag, and yank out my dragon journal. I ask Hiccup for more information, like what their colors look like and what unique features they have. I come up with a pretty good sketch of what I think, and show it to Astrid.

"Wow," she exclaims. "You've never even seen that dragon and you drew it incredibly accurate!"

"Oh stop," I joke. "You're making me blush."

"Akita, I'm serious. You really have some talent with dragons!"

I shrug. "Not talented enough. I still haven't found one to call my own."

She puts her hand on top of mine. "Hey, don't worry. It'll happen. I got lucky with Stormfly. Hiccup, not so much. Right Toothless?"

Toothless makes a guttural sound in his throat, and laughs with Astrid and I.

A loud boom of thunder grabs our attention. As we emerge from the clouds, an island is up ahead. It must be Dramamillion Island. But coming right towards it, there's a huge storm.

"Looks like we might have to find some shelter," Hiccups says.

We fly down to the island, landing on the ground. We observe the sky, lightning flashing through the clouds. Off in the distance, we hear a shrill shriek. Then another flash of lightning.

"Uh oh..." Astrid stammered. "You don't think...?"

Another loud scream emits from the clouds.

"A Skrill."

I gasp. Skrills are incredibly aggressive, elusive, and can be very dangerous. But, they are also highly intelligent.

"It's said a Skrill's intelligence rivals that of a Night Fury," I exclaimed.

Toothless looks at me with an annoyed look and hits me with his tail. "Sorry Toothless!"

A powerful lightning bolt strikes down, putting us all on high alert. With that lightning bolt comes the powerful dragon known as the Skrill. It stands high up, stretching out its large wings and shrieks. Lightning surrounds its body, making it look even deadlier.

"Oh Gods," Hiccup sighs. "Just our luck."

Toothless jumps out in front of us all, his ferocious growl echoing. The Skrill looks agitated with this. I see Toothless is getting ready to fire a plasma blast. His mouth lights up purple. I run in front of him, between he and the Skrill.

"Toothless, no!" I stammer. "I know you're trying to protect us."

I turn around facing the other dragon, my hair standing up from feeling his electricity. He roars, looking me dead in the eye. I slowly walk towards him, putting my hand out.

"Akita!" Hiccup and Astrid both scream. "Stop!"

I look at this dragon, amazed at him. Yes, he is dangerous, but he is also incredible.

"Hey," I tell him. "It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you." I slowly move closer. He shrieks again, throwing his head back. He lowers his head, getting closer to me. Electricity still surrounds his body. He shows me his teeth, trying to frighten me. But I'm not afraid. I look at him, seeing some anger and a lot of curiousity in his eyes.

It begins to rain really hard. Immediately the lightning surrounding him fades, probably because he's all wet. His greenish blue scales shine in the rain.

I reach my hand out, trying to touch his face. He hisses, backing away a few feet.

"Hiccup," I say. "Throw me some fish, or mutton if you have any."

I see him look through a bag for a moment, then throw me a chunk of mutton. Perfect. Astrid looks at me like I'm crazy, as does Toothless.

I show the Skrill the food. "Are you hungry?" I ask him. "I have some mutton here for you." I reach my hand out to him again, this time with the food. He cautiously looks at the scrap of sheep, then to me. He steps forwards, slowly, and moves his mouth towards my hand.

"There you go," I say softly.

He gently takes my offering. My whole body buzzes with excitement. I just fed a Skrill! I felt his large, sharp teeth, and his breath on me.

Looking at him again, his eyes have turned gentle. I notice he has a large gash by his neck, and more scars on other parts of him.

"You poor thing," I tell him. "What happened to you? Guys, he's got a huge wound near his neck. And a bunch of more scars." I turn and look to them, my face heavy with sadness.

The Skrill bows his head to me, and then looks up at me. His eyes tell me a story. They are filled with pain and hurt. Who knows what happened to him. Whatever it was, it was terrible.

Again, I reach my hand towards him. This time, he pushes his head into my hand, closing the gap between us. I'm in awe. I gently rub his head, stroking it and telling him that he'll be safe.

I hear footsteps behind me, and a hand on my shoulder. Immediately, the Skrills demeanor changes and he roars. He uses his head to push me to his side, ready to attack.

I gently put my hands on him, while Toothless runs to Hiccup's side. "No! It's okay! He's a friend. Don't hurt him!"

He swivels his head around, looking at me, with anger in his eyes. Toothless growls, showing his large set of teeth. His mouth lights up purple, ready to protect Hiccup at a moment's notice.

I run between them, pushing my body up against the head of the Skrill. "No," I say softly. "It's okay."

He immediately stops showing anger, and nudges his head against me. I tell him that the humans and dragons with me are my friends.

Astrid slowly walks up to us. "I can see why he is so aggressive," she points out. "Skrills naturally don't trust humans and other dragons. It's even harder for him, telling by his wound and scars."

Hiccup rubs Toothless' head and looks to me in shock. "But... he took food from you and right after let you touch him." Hiccup looks at the dragon again with a smile on his face. "Akita, you have a way with dragons. You just trained an injured Skrill."

I put my head to his. A soft purr comes from the back of his throat and he closes his eyes. I caress his chin and cheek, making sure he knows I won't hurt him.

"Yeah," I say, moving my head away and looking into his eyes. "I guess I did."

Thunder still booms above us, rain still coming.

"Let's find some shelter," Hiccup says.

We all agree and begin walking away from the shore of the island. Hesitantly, the Skrill slowly walks.

"Come on," I tell him. "You'll be safe with us. Not that you have to worry about that. Everyone was pretty scared."

I laugh and motion with my hand for him to follow. He walks to me, and I put my hand on him.

"I'm not going anywhere." He and I begin walking together, my hand still on him. Toothless looks back at us, still skeptical. I give him a thumbs up.

I look to the Skrill while he looks at the rest of the group straight ahead. "What should I call you?" I ask him. He looks at me.

His body is absolutely stunning. I've never seen a Skrill like him before. Usually, Skrills are dark gray with purple markings and a lighter underbelly. But he is greenish-blue, with orange markings and a pale belly. Maybe he is a new subspecies of Skrill?

"Hiccup," I question.

"Yes?"

"Have you ever seen his coloration on a Skrill before? I mean, it's beautiful, but I've never seen anything like it."

"No, I haven't. Maybe he's a rarity of his kind."

I pat his side. "Did you hear that? You're a rarity!" He makes a sound, acknowledging this. "So back to your name... What about Cloudshocker?"

He tilts his head, like he's thinking about it. "Cloudshocker is a pretty badass name," I tell him. "What do you think?"

He smiles at me and nudges himself into me. "Good, I like it too."

After years of growing up in a terrifying place where my people enslaved dragons, I finally have met a people who care for them. And me, of all people, trained a Skrill.

"Cloudshocker, we have so much to learn about each other."

Hiccup shouts, "Hey, I found a cave!"

The group goes in first, and as I begin walking in, Cloudshocker uses his wing to push me back. "It's okay," I tell him. "We need somewhere to get out of the rain. And to build a fire."

He looks up at the large mouth of the cave, then back at me. He nods, and we walk in together.

We set up camp, sitting near the comfort of our dragons. I notice that Cloudshocker's wound is now bleeding.

"Hiccup, how do we treat this wound?" He stands up, goes to his bag, and pulls out some medical supplies.

"I'll show you," he says, walking over to us. Cloudshocker pulls me into his belly and wraps his tail near me, protecting me. He growls at Hiccup.

"Hey, Cloudshocker, it's okay," he says gently. "I'm a friend. I won't hurt you or Akita." Toothless is at the ready.

I step over his tail and walk to the other side of his neck, where blood is spilling out. "It's okay, we're going to help heal you."

I gently place my hand on him and look into his eyes. I see fear.

Hiccup slowly approaches me, as the Skrill still growls, but less aggressive this time. In his hands are a bottle containing some type of dragon salve, some cloth, and some type of sticky gel. He sets down his supplies, except a cloth and the salve. He quietly says "Oh" as if he remembered something. He turns to Astrid.

"Astrid, do you mind getting me some rain water?" He hands her a large bowl to fill up.

She comes back quickly, because it's still pouring so it didn't take long for her to fill up the bowl.

"Thank you," he says. "Okay Cloudshocker. I'm going to help you." He dips the cloth into the bowl of water and rings it out. "First, I have to clean it."

He slowly moves his hands to the wound. He gently presses the wet cloth to the large cut. I pat Cloudshocker, as I'm sure it really hurts him.

"You're doing great," I reassured, smiling.

Next, Hiccup opens the bottle. The cave fills up with an herbal scent. "Now I'm going to put this salve on your wound. It might feel a little funny. It's supposed to help soothe it with a cooling feeling. Plus it has healing properties." He pours some onto his hand and gently rubs it onto the deep gash. This time, the dragon howls in pain.

"I'm so sorry," Hiccup tells him. "I want to find out who did this to you. No dragon deserves to be treated like this. Who knows how many are being abused like this as we speak."

For once, Cloudshocker doesn't growl at Hiccup. He looks to him, sadness showing on his face. I'm sure he's grateful Hiccup is helping him feel better.

"Okay bud, we're almost done. Now for the bandaging." He takes the last, and largest piece of cloth. He rubs some of the gel onto it, and sticks it onto the wound.

"There, all better."

Cloudshocker moves his head side to side, as if testing the bandage. He makes sounds of glee, and turns to Hiccup. At first, I think he was going to bite him. But then he sticks out his large tongue and licks him! We all laugh as Hiccup shakes off the sticky dragon saliva.

"Well, now I can say I've gotten kissed by a Skrill." Toothless moans and rolls his eyes, quickly moving to Hiccup. He pounces on him and licks him too.

"Agh, Toothless!" Hiccup exclaims. "You know that doesn't come out!"

Toothless makes his guttural laugh. I look to Cloudshocker, as he was observing what was happening. I think he sees the bonds between the other dragons and their riders. I sit down, leaning against his belly.

"See?" I say, starting rub his belly. "Those of us who have dragons have a great bond. I thought I would never be able to have such a deep connection with a dragon, but I found you."

He lays his head near me on the ground, sleepiness taking over him. I pat his head. He looks to me one last time, before closing his eyes. He tells me, 'Thank you.'

***Author's Note***

Thank you everyone for your feedback. I hope you enjoy my writing and what I've created so far! I love this franchise and wanted to create my own story within. If you have any suggestions or anything else, let me know!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The pouring rain continues on into the night. We all stay in the cave and rest. I still have no idea what we're doing here, but I'm glad I came.

Cloudshocker has been asleep for hours, barely moving. This poor dragon probably was captured, and tortured to do whatever these people wanted. The important question is, who are these people?

Before I know it, dawn approaches. Birds sing and the cave slowly becomes lighter. The others are still sleeping. Cloudshocker wakes, and I decide I want to spend some time with him, and to see if I can ride him. I write a note, informing Hiccup and Astrid what I'm doing.

Cloudshocker and I emerge from the cave, taking in our surroundings. We have yet to see a Dramillion, but I tell him to keep an eye out for anything suspicious. We walk into the tall pine trees, looking for a good place for cover if needed. We come to a clearing, and to the left of that is a large pond.

"Are you hungry, Cloudshocker?" I question. "I can catch you some fish if you want."

He looks at me, and then runs over to the pond. I laugh and quickly follow.

"Okay bud, I have a fishing net in my pack."

Before I can take my net out, Cloudshocker is shooting bolts of electricity into the water. Fish float up to the surface. I use my net to bring them back to the shore.

Laughing, I nudge him. "Well, I guess I don't need to worry about catching us fish."

I pull out the net, dumping the fish onto the ground. I pick one up, and reach my hand out to him. He takes it without hesitation. I honestly cannot believe how trusting this dragon is. After all that he has been through, plus being naturally territorial, he is extremely friendly to those who gain his trust.

After we finish off the fish, I ask him if he wants to take a practice flight. He hangs his tongue out over his teeth, and excitedly runs circles around me. I reach my hand out, giggling at his playfulness. He eagerly pushes his head into my hand, ready to take off into the air.

"Okay listen," I tell him. "I've never ridden my own dragon before. Be patient with me, Cloudshocker."

He turns to the side, allowing an easy way for me to climb onto his back. I reach up to his crown of spikes, using that to pull me up. I sit on the back of his neck, using his long, green spikes as a way to control his movements. I pat the top of his head, telling him that I'm ready. Slowly, he opens up his large set of wings. Adrenaline courses through my body, and my heart is racing.

We take off, quickly gaining height into the air. The ground shrinks below us. We fly into the clouds, electricity surrounding us as if it were a shield. The wind blasts into my face. I shout excitedly, as we make a large looped back flip, and dive towards the sea. Cloudshocker's roars thundered into the air.

"Oh my Gods Cloudshocker," I yell. "This is amazing! Thank you for this!"

Right before we hit the water, he straightens his wings out and glides against it. I reach down over him and put my hand into the splashing water. He flaps back into the air, heading back to the island.

Jokingly, I yawn, acting bored. "Is that the fastest you can go? I've ridden on Toothless and boy does he fly."

He hears this and immediately begins to fly harder and faster up into the sky. We glide above the clouds, going as fast as we can. He tucks his wings inward, getting ready to dive back down to the island. We both gleefully scream as the wind hits us hard in the face. Then he starts diving in a spiral, spinning faster and faster. Now, I'm screaming in fear as he laughs at me.

"Woah woah woah," I squealed, as we reach the ground. He opens his wings and abruptly slows, making our landing nice and easy. He looks up at me and I pat his head. The entire island is spinning, even though he and I are no longer flying. I try to easily get down, but instead I fall into the sand. Cloudshocker is there, poking me with his nose. He snorts air onto my face and laughs his guttural laugh.

"I deserved that," I laugh, still dizzy. I stand, stumbling around. He lets me lean onto his head for support, and guides me so I don't fall.

"We should probably get back to the group," I tell him. We walk together like that for a while, until I no longer see three trees at a time. We look for the cave we slept in, and find Hiccup, Astrid, Toothless, and Stormfly waiting for us at the mouth of it.

"Sorry I left like that guys," I stammered. "Cloudshocker and I wanted to go for a test flight..."

"We saw," Hiccup addressed. "And you guys were amazing! Nothing beats the feeling of flying with your dragon for the first time." He puts his head against Toothless' and closes his eyes, scratching under his chin, while Toothless hums.

Hiccup smiles at me, and so does Astrid.

"I told you, Akita," Astrid says. "You have found a dragon to call your own."

"Crazy, we just got to the island and you have a new companion?!" Hiccup exclaims.

I shrug, smiling, and acknowledging how quickly Cloudshocker and I bonded.

"Okay gang", Hiccup says. "Let's get to business."

"What are we doing here anyway?" I ask, following Hiccup and Toothless deeper into the trees.

Hiccup stops and takes out a large map. "We're checking up on the Dramillions. I want to make sure nobody is trying to harm these dragons."

Nodding, we all continue to let Hiccup lead the way. The springtime sun smiles down on us, making us sweat with effort. The tall pines cover the landscape and dot the land with large pine cones. Toothless kicks one towards Cloudshocker, in an attempt to play. He looks at Toothless, then at the pine cone. He pats it back towards the playful Night Fury. He gurgles in excitement, and ensues a game of pat-the-pine-cone. As my shy dragon breaks out of his shell, the two elusive dragons run off with the pine cone to further the distance between them.

Rarely any clouds were to be seen in the sky. Large ponds of water shimmer in the sparkling light. As we venture further into the island, we come across a vast body of water, with a waterfall flowing into it from above. We stop to appreciate its beauty. Hiccup takes out his map again and marks the waterfall on it.

"This will be a great swimming hole in the summer," exclaimed Hiccup.

Just as we were about to continue on, a blaring sound comes from the east treeline. We freeze, Hiccup motioning for us to be quiet. The dragons sense something too, because Toothless begins to viciously growl.

Suddenly, we are surrounded by Dramillion dragons. Their demeanor tells me that they are territorial, and being protective of their home. They circle us, roaring and bellowing. I notice the largest one, a blue male with large spikes on its head, seems to be telling the others what to do.

"I thought they would remember us," Astrid pointed out.

"So did I," Hiccup states. He looks at Cloudshocker and I. The Skrill is standing protectively, hissing at our counterparts.

"I think I know why they're being so aggressive," he says. "They have never seen Akita and Cloudshocker before. They're unfamiliar to them."

I look at the angry dragons around us, and decide what I must do. I pat Cloudshocker and tell him to stand guard. Steadily, I walk over to what must be their alpha male. Toothless yowls, his appearance changing. His back, mouth, and tail glow bright blue. The dragons question this, but still guard their land.

Slowly, I put my hand out. He snarls in my face, hot saliva covering my cheeks.

"It's okay," I say softly. "I'm not going to hurt you, I promise. Cloudshocker and I are not your enemies."

This seems to calm him down a bit. He stops making noises, and looks directly at me. His pupils widened, indicating he is more docile now. I look away, still holding my hand out. Sure enough, I feel the smooth scales of a dragon pushed into my hand. I look at him and smile, stroking his pointed nose.

Hiccup and Astrid walk up beside me, reaching out to touch him. He allows them to and we collectively breathe a sigh of relief. My dragon slowly walks to him, ready to defend himself at a moment's notice. But instead, the Dramillion inquisitively sniffs him, and decides he means no harm.

"Well, looks like these dragons are safe," Hiccup happily sighs.

The late afternoon sun brings a warm, orange glow to us. It's too late to make the long flight home back to Berk.

The rest of the Dramillions curiously size us up. Hiccup concludes it's time to start making our way back to the cave. One last time, we pat the alpha and say goodbye. They quickly run, all in opposite directions.

"Hey, who wants to go on a sunset flight?" I ask.

Hiccup and Astrid smile at each other, and walk to mount Toothless and Stormfly. I turn to my dragon, who happily lowers himself so I can get onto him. He hisses in delight.

"You're a good boy," I tell him, scratching his neck. He purrs.

Hiccup takes off into flight first, then Astrid.

"Let's do this bud."

As the sun starts to set, Cloudshocker and I leap into the air. His wings flapping, we quickly catch up to the others. My adrenaline pumps, not even feeling the cool air whispering around us. Our dragons' calls echo into the air. I feel his electricity grow. He roars fiercely, and climbs into the clouds. Laughing, we weave in and out of the puffs of water vapor. I stretch my arms out as we go, touching the clouds.

The feeling of flying is like none other.

The clouds are tinged orange, pink, and red. Glowing, they loop into such patterns you would never be able to see from the ground. Cloudshocker follows them, tucking his wings and spreading them out again to go along with the silly shapes the gods created.

Suddenly, he begins to dive. I yell in excitement as we speed down to the sea. The wind whips around us, creating a loud whistling noise. He and I fall together, smiling and enjoying one another. Just as we are about to splash into the cold water, he flattens out his wings. The pressure creates mist from the ocean, spraying up and us. He leaps back into the air, spotting the other dragons.

As stars begin to peak out, I sink deep into my thoughts. I let Cloudshocker do as he pleases, only using his crown of spikes to hold on. He begins to twirl, obviously noticing I wasn't paying much attention. It snaps me back to reality.

Amused, my scaley friend begins to do back flips, increasing his speed with each one. Jokingly, I scream telling him to quit it.

I realize that he has really broken out of his shell. He is curious, friendly, and extremely playful. I lay flat onto his back and stroke his scales. He calms, flying smoothly. The moon greets us, white light reflecting off the ocean. I look up at the stars.

"What do you think is up there, Cloudshocker?" I point up into the sky.

He looks up into the sky, growling in response.

"I wish I knew what you were saying bud. I'm sure you have some things to say."

He nods. I know he can understand most of what humans are saying. He shoots a bolt of lightning into the sky, creating a blue light show. The stars gleam and shimmer down.

"I want to explore everywhere with you."

I sit up and put my hand on his head. He leans into it and purrs. His wings flap, as we make our way back towards our cave on the island.

"Cloudshocker, together we are unstoppable. We make a pretty good team, don't we?"

His reddish eyes look back at me. They tell me he is thankful, and very happy. Although he has many scars, mental and physical, he is a kind soul. I feel like he and I were meant to meet.

I look to him and sternly tell him, "I will always protect you, no matter what. I will never betray or hurt you like so many other humans have."

He gratefully yelps and flies down to the shore. We land in the sand, and I step down from his back. I kneel down in front of his face and put my hands on both sides of it. Looking into his eyes, I know there is someone looking back to me.

"Thank you, Cloudshocker." I close my eyes, smiling, and lean my head down to his. His slimy tongue reaches for my face, and he pounces on me. He gently puts his claws on my arms, as if he were holding me down. He licks and licks me, clearly showing his gratitude towards me.

"Ahhh! Get off of me!"

He gives me one more juicy lick, and pulls me up. I shake off all of the sand, but it doesn't really work. His saliva is making the sand stick to my clothes and skin.

"Well thanks a lot," I giggle.

He laughs too. We begin to walk back towards the cave, ready to get a good night's sleep. Hiccup, Toothless, Astrid, and Stormfly are already there, waiting for us at the opening.

Astrid offers Cloudshocker some fish, and he eagerly accepts them. Together, we walk into our place for the night. Toothless lights a fire for us all, and we all settle in. My dragon lays down, and yawns. Sleepily he opens his wing for me to sleep against his belly. I smile at him.

"Goodnight everyone," I yawn.

Cloudshocker's heartbeat and warmth draw me towards sleep. He pulls me closer to him.

This is what it's like to have family.


End file.
